Looking for best boxing gloves bag to choose from in this busy world? Boxing gloves are one of the most important pieces of equipment for a boxer. They protect the hands and provide some padding to the opponent. Gloves come in a variety of sizes and styles, but there are a few things that are common to all gloves. One is that they come in a bag.
Not all bags are created equal when it comes to boxing gloves. Some may be small or large, have pockets or not, or be made out of durable materials.
When shopping for a boxing bag, you want to make sure that you buy one that is going to last. A good bag will be able to withstand the punishment of being thrown around and used by a professional boxer. It should also be sturdy enough to withstand the rigors of the ring. This is a bag that will get used, abused, and thrown around, so you want to make sure that it can take it.
Another thing to consider when shopping for a boxing bag is how much space you need.
There are three different types of boxing gloves: sparring gloves, training gloves, and boxing gloves. Sparring gloves are the smallest and lightest. They are designed for practicing punches and kicks without hurting yourself.
Training gloves are designed to be worn during a workout. They are heavier than sparring gloves, and usually come with padding. Boxing gloves are designed for boxing matches. They are heavier than training gloves and are made to withstand repeated blows.
A good bag should be sturdy and hold up to the abuse that comes with being a boxer. It should be comfortable and fit your hand size. If you are looking for a durable bag, consider buying one made of leather. Leather is naturally resistant to stains and water, and is more durable than synthetic materials.
If you are looking for a more affordable option, consider purchasing a bag made out of vinyl or canvas. Vinyl bags are inexpensive and can be found at most sporting goods stores. They are often made with a durable outer shell and a soft inner lining.
As an alternative to boxing, those who know very well what their goals is can go in for punching bags that create an outlet to release all that power. Think about which punching bag is the appropriate choice for your workout.
Little compares to the pure, unadulterated fun of punching inanimate objects. You’ve got all this pent up energy and you get to punch it out. No mess. No one gets hurt.
To top that off, you get an incredibly intense workout. That’s because boxing and kicking uses every major muscle in your body, everything moving in sync. Imagine yourself in constant motion, circling your leather opponent with fists and feet and knees, breathing heavy through every strike. In short, it’s a stellar full-body workout great for building muscle and burning calories while also improving balance, reaction time and even focus.
Let’s explore the variety of bags from which to choose.
TYPES OF PUNCHING BAGS
HEAVY BAGS
When you imagined yourself in constant motion, you probably pictured a heavy bag. It’s a cylindrical bag that hangs from the ceiling and stars in most movies. It works great for strength training because it resists your strikes.
These bags can weigh between 70 and 150 pounds and are usually cloth filled. They are most useful for kicking and punching. Keep in mind, though, that they have less mobility than other bags. That means you won’t have to reposition it between hits, but obviously that also makes heavy bags more stationary and less convenient. It’s important that you also check to make sure your ceiling can handle the bag’s weight before installing.
To make sure that your heavy bag is the right size for your needs and provides enough resistance for proper training, take your personal body weight and divide by two. For example, if you weight 160 lb., your heavy bag should weigh roughly 80 lb. You can round up to the nearest available bag weight if you are in-between sizes.
Teardrop Bags
A fun variation, teardrop bags hang from the ceiling and have a similar weight range, but they have a less even shape.
This teardrop shape approximates a human body better and allows you to practice kneeing, elbowing and uppercutting. In the interest of fitness, these added moves increase your range of motion, contributing variability to your workout.
FREE STANDING BAGS
While they look like heavy bags, free standing bags have a couple of differences. For one, they don’t hang, they stand (of course). They are usually shorter and on a sturdy base made of plastic composite that the user would fill with either water or sand.
Because of their height, standing bags prove easier to kick but harder to uppercut. Free standing bags are also a convenient option because of how easy it is to move them.
Like heavy bags, they provide excellent resistance for building muscle tone.
Body Bags
For anyone seriously interested in MMA or grappling, we recommend a body bag. This “bag” stands on the ground and takes the shape of an actual person, complete with arms, torso, and face. It will habituate you to striking or throwing something vaguely human in shape, an important step for anyone hoping go toe to toe with another person.
SPEED BAGS
They’re built to snap back, ricochet off their stand and come back. To get this speed, they are smaller, lighter and air filled. The main point of all this speed is to increase your timing, rhythm and hand-eye coordination.
If your ultimate goal is fitness, this is still a great option. Even though this bag offers less resistance, you will still get an amazing aerobic exercise out of it. Even punching this lighter bag, you’re using muscles in your arms, back, core and legs.
New to speed bags? Choose a larger bag, which will be slower and easier to hit, and work your way smaller.
Double End Bags
If you want to get a little more hit back from your speed bag, check out a double-end bag. This option is immobile because it’s attached to both the floor and the ceiling, but because it has a freer range of motion than a typical speed bag, it can strike back, helping develop reflexes. In essence, this bag attempts to train you to respond to the parries of actual opponents. Double end bags also allow users to move around their target.
Fitness and training decisions can be tough. What’s best for your body? For your workout? For your enjoyment? Use this handy guide to decide what will give you the best results, punch for punch.
There are several different punching bag styles to consider, based on the sport you’re in and your training goals. The heavy bag — ideal for improving your overall technique — may not be appropriate for an athlete looking to improve speed, reflex and reaction time. A speed bag won’t be used for polishing your front kicks. The right bag for kickboxing may not be the best one for Muay Thai, and so on.
At Ringside, we have nearly 200 unique punching bags to consider to suit your specific goal, sport, athletic build and budget. Here are a few of the most popular kinds:
Heavy Bag
These large, heavy-duty punching bags are typically suspended from the ceiling so that they can withstand a lot of impact. In general, heavy bags are designed for improving overall punching and kicking technique. Your “standard” heavy bags are cylindrical, but heavy bags come in several different shapes and sizes. They weigh between 30 and 200 pounds and are typically hung with a chain, swivel or rope. Choose this kind of bag for boxing, MMA, Muay Thai, karate and more.
Other Types of Heavy Bags
- Muay Thai Heavy Bag (aka Banana Bag) — A slimmer and longer version of the typical heavy bag, the Muay Thai heavy bag is designed differently for training low kicks and knee strikes. These kinds of bags are often used in Muay Thai and MMA.
- Round Heavy Bag — Short, spherical heavy bags, or those with teardrop shapes, may be used to hone in on certain body punches. For example, you may use what’s known as a “wrecking ball” heavy bag if you want a heavyweight bag that will help you perfect more targeted kicks and punches.
- Angle Heavy Bag — The angled heavy bag usually features a top-heavy design with a broader top portion and a slimmer trunk. These kinds of punching bags allow you to throw better straight punches, hooks, uppercuts and body shots.
- Double End Heavy Bag — The double end heavy bag is like the angle bag, but it features two dramatic angles — think of an hourglass shape. The benefit of this is that it allows athletes to train body-head combinations, since the silhouette of the bag roughly mimics that of an opponent.
Free-Standing Punching Bag
Free-standing punching bags, as the name implies, do not require any kind of fixed mounting system. While most punching bags are required to be hung from the ceiling or attached to the wall, free-standing bags are mounted on a heavy, durable base. This allows them to placed anywhere that there is room.
They are also easily re-positioned to allow a space to have multiple uses. Typically these types of bags have a spring-loaded design so that the bag returns to the fighter when hit. This type of recoil offers a very different speed and movement than might be expected from a standard-mounted bag, delivering a different challenge to the fighter.
The free-standing bags are great for practicing the low kicks common to Muay Thai and other mixed martial arts. They are ideal for home use or gyms where ceiling or wall installation is not an option.
As its name suggests, the speed bag is meant to help athletes improve their fast-paced punches, by assisting with with strength, timing, endurance and specific goals, such as helping fighters learn to keep their hands up or building shoulder strength.
Speed bags are filled with air and are significantly smaller than heavy bags, so they’re often suspended from the ceiling or wall with a platform. They’re usually shaped like a globe or a teardrop and are most commonly used for traditional boxing training.
Double End Bags
Double-end bags are meant to help athletes land an effective counter punch by sharpening reflexes, improving speed and hand/eye coordination, and effectivity nailing down a sense of timing and rhythm. Double end bags come in various sizes depending on the fighter’s needs and can be mounted from a wall or ceiling.
Uppercut Bag
Unsurprisingly, the uppercut bag is uniquely designed for focused uppercut practice. It can also be used for straight punches, such as jabs and crosses, hooks and more. These kinds of bags can be mounted onto the wall or ceiling, depending on their shape and size. We recommend uppercut bags for serious boxing athletes.
Wall Bag
Wall punching bags can be used for a wide range of training endeavors and in gyms or training facilities with high or vaulted ceilings. Unlike typical bags, these bags are mounted to the wall and don’t provide any rebound or swivel. Otherwise known as mounted punching bags, these bags are much less common than swinging bags, but may be a good choice in environments where typical ceiling mounting isn’t an option.
Grappling Dummy
Arguably the most lifelike punching bags around, grappling dummies look like a human opponent, often complete with a head, legs and hands. Grappling dummies are generally freestanding (not mounted to the wall or ceiling) and don’t have a base to keep them rooted, which allows you to perfect your takedowns, throws, submissions and strikes. These are commonly employed in wrestling and MMA, including jiu-jitsu and judo.
CHOOSING SIZE AND WEIGHT OF PUNCHING BAG
The primary considerations for choosing a punching bag size are the fighter’s age and size. Just like in a real bout, a fighter should be matched with a bag that works well with his or her own height and weight. Punching bags come in sizes ranging from 2.5 feet to 6 feet and weights ranging from 60 pounds to 150-plus pounds, but this is not a hard and fast rule. You’ll find bags in a variety of heights, widths and weights. Some punching bags have integrated mechanisms that allow you to adjust the weight as needed.
A quick note about choosing kids’ punching bags for youth trainers. Youth punching bags weigh significantly less than standard, adult-sized bags. Because the blows will be less powerful from a youth fighter, these bags don’t require the same amount of strength or impact absorption. The focus of these bags is not on strength or power training, but on developing technique.
For adults, of course, you’ll need to choose a larger and heavier bag. But which size is right for you or your clients?
The general rule for sizing your adult heavy bag is that it should be approximately half your weight. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds, you should choose an 80-pound punching bag. Heavy bags that are 4 or 5 feet long are usually sufficient for adults. As long as you have enough resistance and steadiness — i.e. the bag doesn’t flail wildly in every direction each time you land a square punch — then you should be in good shape, size-wise.
PUNCHING BAG SURFACE MATERIAL
In general, punching bags are made of either leather or a synthetic material, such as vinyl or plastic. Leather punching bags are the most traditional and are still arguably the gold standard, desired because they’re incredibly durable and comfortable, not to mention classic in aesthetic.
With that being said, leather tends to be more expensive than man-made materials. For this reason, many punching bag brands utilize a lifelike synthetic leather that provides a similar feel as leather without the high cost.
Still, synthetic punching bags do bring some advantages, especially in specific environments. For example, vinyl and nylon may be better suited to humid spaces because they’re more resistant to developing mold and mildew. Occasionally, you might see a bag constructed from canvas. While much less durable than genuine and synthetic leather, canvas punching bags are extremely affordable and can be good in very low-use scenarios.
PUNCHING BAG FILL MATERIAL
The final consideration in punching bag selection is the fill, AKA what’s inside the bag. The fill determines the firmness, comfort, weight and even the cost of your punching bag. In most cases, your punching bag will come pre-filled, but you may need to buy filler for a bag that was sold empty or refill it as needed if you’ve had a leak or the fill has begun to disintegrate. The most popular punching bag fillers include:
- Sand — Naturally, sand is the best option for people who want maximum weight in their punching bag. Sand is easy to fill into almost any reservoir and, unlike water, won’t cause a huge mess if it leaks. On the other hand, sand tends to change in hardness if it’s exposed to moisture and may leak out of the bag’s reservoir into other areas.
- Water — Water-filled heavy bags are convenient, since most of us have water nearby at all times. Today’s water bags are more dependable, reliable and safer to punch. Usually, water-filled punching bags have a “bladder,” which allows for easy filling and prevents breakage.
- Air — Often used in speed bags and double end bags, air is a cheap and convenient filler for those who need a lighter weight option. The primary downfall of air-filled punching bags is that most tend to deflate slightly with constant use, so they will need to be refilled every couple of days.
- Textile — Punching bags that use textile fillings are good for applications where you want to reduce muscle strain on the wrist, elbows and shoulders. The material is relatively soft, lightweight and conforming. Most standard and muay thai style heavy bags use a combination of textile and sand fill to provide the right amount of weight and impact feel.
FINAL WORDS:
When you want to purchase punching bags, or fighting equipment, shopping can be a challenge. With numerous alternatives to weigh, it isn’t uncommon to find yourself weighing the consequences for some time before selecting a punching bag that is wholly appropriate for your needs or your clients. Gloves beast will be able to help you in the event that you are ever in trouble. Simply ask as many times as you like.